Stephen Ireland Makes Himself Available Again

[jmurphyc]

If SI didnt blame everyone else, he would be far more respected.

There's no doubt that Ireland hasn't handled things as well as he could have, but he hasn't 'blamed' anyone else since the Slovakia game. He may have continued the lie about his grandmothers, but he didn't blame anyone else for this. All we have is newspaper reports to go by, I have yet to hear a word uttered from Ireland's mouth about the situation.

[Greenforever]

There's no doubt that Ireland hasn't handled things as well as he could have, but he hasn't 'blamed' anyone else since the Slovakia game. He may have continued the lie about his grandmothers, but he didn't blame anyone else for this. All we have is newspaper reports to go by, I have yet to hear a word uttered from Ireland's mouth about the situation.

He still has refused to play for 2 managers - that is not in dispute and I still say 3 managers

[jmurphyc]

He still has refused to play for 2 managers - that is not in dispute and I still say 3 managers

I'm not really sure how much we can trust him, but I personally will give him a chance if he comes back. He's quite young, and a lot of young players make mistakes. It's just unfortunate that his were quite public. I do agree with the earlier posting that it depends on a player's ability whether we will give them a chance again. If Stephen Ireland was playing for a mid-table championship club then a lot more people (myself included) would be saying good riddance. It's just unfortunate that Ireland probably is worth the extra hassle.

[Greenforever]

I'm not really sure how much we can trust him, but I personally will give him a chance if he comes back. He's quite young, and a lot of young players make mistakes. It's just unfortunate that his were quite public. I do agree with the earlier posting that it depends on a player's ability whether we will give them a chance again. If Stephen Ireland was playing for a mid-table championship club then a lot more people (myself included) would be saying good riddance. It's just unfortunate that Ireland probably is worth the extra hassle.

I hate to say he wont be worth the trouble, which is a pity because he has great potential, but a desire to play for your country is something you either have or dont have.

It's no different from people who support English clubs and dont care how Ireland do, there are also EL supporters like that and also very passionate Irish supporters who also are supporters of English clubs etc.

The reality is that SI does not have the desire to play for his country and even if he returns he will walk out at any time regardless of the consequences for his team mates. I HOPE that I am proved wrong in time but I doubt it.

[mypost]

I'm delighted he's back full stop. We need a player of his quality

But he's not back, atm.

Let's consider the next matches:

v Serbia, Columbia: May games, 2 weeks after end of league season = on siesta with pinky. "Ireland games, wtf are they?"

v Norway: August friendly away = withdraws from squad for "not in right frame of mind"

v Georgia, Montenegro: Away double headers, pinky would feel too lonely, so that's a no

v Cyprus: Wouldn't play last time, fearful of a hiss and boo from crowd this time, so that's a no.

End of year: Trappattoni makes his judgement on him as a result.

[RivaldoBabb]

The reality is that SI does not have the desire to play for his country and even if he returns he will walk out at any time regardless of the consequences for his team mates. I HOPE that I am proved wrong in time but I doubt it.

Thats the danger with Stephen Ireland, if things dont go his way and he is dropped from the starting team (as he should be not only for not showing commitment but also because our first choice midfield should be Duff, A Reid, S Reid & everyones favourite scotsman McGeady) then he is quite likely to walk out on the team and come up with an excuse almost as ridiculous as his hair.

[tetsujin1979]

our first choice midfield should be Duff, A Reid, S Reid & everyones favourite scotsman McGeady

That's a fairly lightweight midfield, Stephen Reid would be the only one in that who can make a decent tackle, and would be doing a lot of the defensive work by himself.

[drummerboy]

His performances lately have been very inconsistent. Against Man U his was magnificient but since then his performances have been very average. Not convinced that he is a player to build a team around.

[NeilMcD]

He has said he wants to be picked by the new manager. Now its up to the manager to decide is he worth his place in the squad which I am sure is what Trap is going to do. End of story really.

[Sligo Hornet]

He has said he wants to be picked by the new manager. Now its up to the manager to decide is he worth his place in the squad which I am sure is what Trap is going to do. End of story really.

Thank f**k for that!

[RivaldoBabb]

That's a fairly lightweight midfield, Stephen Reid would be the only one in that who can make a decent tackle, and would be doing a lot of the defensive work by himself.

Stephen Ireland wouldnt add anything defensive to this midfield, he is too light and gets pushed off the ball in nearly every tackle.

[tetsujin1979]

Stephen Ireland wouldnt add anything defensive to this midfield, he is too light and gets pushed off the ball in nearly every tackle.

I never said he would add anything from a defensive point of view, his tackling is brutal. But by including him, it increases the number of players in midfield. That allows a creative passer of the ball (say Andy Reid) to play a lot deeper, giving a dig out for defenders as someone else to make a simple pass to, and a defensive midfielder would not be running back and forth all game, allowing him to concentrate on winning the ball, not creating attacks.
Of course, this means playing with one up front, with Ireland behind him and I'm still not sure that's a good thing.

[tetsujin1979]

Tardelli and Brady to check out Ireland against Reading tomorrow: http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...d-1308853.html

[Greenforever]

But I am supporting Trapattoni there, but you cannot force people to play if they do not want to,' Eriksson concluded

That is the problem, he seems to want to be begged to play. better off without him

[tricky_colour]

Tardelli and Brady to check out Ireland against Reading tomorrow: http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...d-1308853.html

Well as he spent the entire game on the bench I wonder what conclusions they drew?

Granted Man City lost 2:0, so he probably looked quite impressive.

[bellavistaman]

strange one alright, could see this happening the second johnson arrived back, being english and all.

[paul_oshea]

bellavistaman, this is what i was on about earlier. they will change the team to have johnson back. The city fans rate him very highly. I hope though yer man was wrong and that ireland does get more chances...

[bellavistaman]

bellavistaman, this is what i was on about earlier. they will change the team to have johnson back. The city fans rate him very highly. I hope though yer man was wrong and that ireland does get more chances...

i agree with you, cant see why though, theres no way hes leagues apart from ireland, richards said ireland is the best product from the youth acadamy, but to be fair we all show bias to local talent.Me with ireland.

[RivaldoBabb]

strange one alright, could see this happening the second johnson arrived back, being english and all.

Nothing to do with Johnson being English but everything to do with him being a far better player and less of a plonker.

[bellavistaman]

only opinion i suppose. Cant see ho w being a plonker should affect first team status the way i see things 9/10s of professional footballers are the biggest plonkers ever.